


Silent Fury

by Chocopiggy



Series: Infinite Ironstrange [7]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arguments, Boyfriends, Diary/Journal, Fluff, IronStrange, Language!, M/M, Making Up, Minor character death (you know who), Not the f word but others
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-02-23 13:55:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23712577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chocopiggy/pseuds/Chocopiggy
Summary: Tony reads Stephen's journal. After getting caught, he has to find a way to make it up to his boyfriend.
Relationships: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Series: Infinite Ironstrange [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1696747
Kudos: 64





	Silent Fury

**Author's Note:**

> I'm using a prompt list!
> 
> https://creativichee.tumblr.com/post/120992338495/send-me-a-number-and-ill-write-a-micro-story

It wasn't his fault. Okay, maybe a little. But Tony was just so curious about what Stephen wrote in those journals of his. And it was so tempting knowing one was tucked neatly in a stack in his backpack chucked on the floor half open. 

And that he had at least 20 minutes before Stephen came back up from Tony’s kitchen with whatever tea and sandwich nonsense Tony thought was way too mature for two high school students, but was not willing to fight the taller boy over when it was clear which one of them cared more about nutrition than the other.

And so, shifting over on the bed so the backpack was right at his feet, he slowly slid it open and took it out, stroking the familiar cover Tony’d seen so many times, a soft blue leathery cover with a tree pattern stamped into it. He recalled what Stephen looked like when he was writing in it, simultaneously incredibly focused but also as if looking into his past so he knew what to write next.

Tony also remembered what Stephen looked like when Tony asked if he could see it someday. Several emotions crossing those blue-green eyes at once. Fear, apprehension, embarrassment, settling on this slyness as he responded “no way” with a grin and that beautiful baritone voice of his.

Tony could assume at the most that Stephen wrote about basic things like classes, teachers, homework, boring shit like that. In the short time Stephen had convinced him to write journal entries before Tony couldn’t stand the amount of self-reflection involved or simple recollection of the day (parties with drugs and alcohol certainly didn’t serve to aid his memory), Tony mainly wrote about that nonsense.

He also thought Stephen probably wrote about him, seeing Stephen glance at him sometimes when he was writing with this small smile on his face, his eyes bright with… something. And Tony’s desire to know what was written about him had reached its breaking point.

Looking back on it now, he probably could have read the journal if Stephen slept over (he always had his current journal in his backpack, and to Tony’s knowledge, he had filled up like five).

But after listening for Stephen, he flipped the book open, first seeing incredible drawings on the blank page separating the cover and the lined pages. There were blue butterflies, and intricate patterns, and what seemed like a sketch of him and Stephen in the middle of it all, lying on a picnic blanket. Tony swallowed. The joy in the two figures’ eyes was evident, their hands joined and smiles wide. Moving past that, Tony read the first entry.

_Hello journal, you’re officially part of my series of angst and joy and all things in-between. I said I wasn’t going to be melodramatic, but it seems it’s just second nature for me being a dramatic bitch. Today classes were boring as usual, but I had my and Tony’s date to look forward to tonight, and it did not disappoint. Not that I expected it to. He’s always wonderful, to talk to and joke with. I feel like… not-me when I’m with him, in all the best ways. Damn, I’m gonna look at this in the future and cringe SO HARD, but hopefully Tony and I could look at this together then._

Tony smiled, seeing Stephen’s flamboyant personality come together on the pages. Tony had to admit, his writing was pretty entertaining, even more so knowing it was his and Stephen’s story inscribed on the pages. He read on, slowly becoming oblivious to his surroundings. It was very much to his detriment how incredibly Stephen wrote, with accompanying scribbles adding so much character to the pages.

_Yesterday I spent the day bawling my eyes out at Tony’s house, and therefore couldn’t write last night since I ended up falling asleep on him in my exhaustion. It was of course, the anniversary of Donna’s death, and knowing it was my fault, I obviously couldn’t seek solace from my family. Why I couldn’t do better then, I regret never being able to know, but I’ll do better now. For her. For Tony._

Tony’s eyes welled up with tears. He remembered that day too well. Him and Stephen sat on the bed in his room, bingeing whatever TV show Tony absent-mindedly put on, and Stephen cried or slept leaning on Tony’s shoulder in intervals. They barely ate, but Tony knew he would do anything to make Stephen feel better. As per Stephen’s insistence, apparently Tony’s simply being there was enough.

Stephen blamed himself for Donna’s death? Why? How? Tony had so many questions, but knowing he wasn’t even supposed to know that information in the first place, having read it from Stephen’s journal, he moved past it.

Tony smiled at the good days, read in concern the bad days, and learned so much about Stephen in such a short timespan. Stephen wasn’t the type to wear his heart on his sleeve, but them dating and all, Tony knew just enough to know he wanted to be with Stephen forever, wanting to get to know more about the other boy with each passing day, and reading this just reaffirmed that.

Having his attention completely taken by Stephen’s writing, Tony didn’t notice Stephen come in with the food. Or put it down on the side table to see what Tony was so enraptured by. Or see Stephen’s smile fade upon realizing what it was.

Tony did notice Stephen when the journal was suddenly snatched from his hands. And saw the fury plain on his face. Tony’s expression turned anxious, realizing he was caught. “Babe, wait—”

“Don’t! Don’t ‘babe’ me, Anthony.” Oh shit. Stephen rarely said Anthony, as per Tony’s insistence, except when he was mad or in really difficult situations. And this happened to be both.

“I-I’m just gonna go,” Stephen said as he shoved the journal in his backpack and zipped it up, heading out the door. Tony stared uselessly at the doorway where his boyfriend just was, processing what had just happened. Hearing the front door close snapped Tony back to the present, and he darted up from the bed and down the stairs to try and make reparations for violating Stephen’s trust.

Storming outside without his shoes, he looked both ways for any sign of Stephen, but didn’t see him. Tony ran a hand through his hair frustrated with himself more than anything. He went back inside to grab his phone, wallet and keys (the holy trinity, as Stephen, the ever-responsible one, coined it) and shoved on sneakers before briskly jogging to his boyfriend’s house, not wanting this agony to stretch out longer than it had to.

Tony knew he had messed up, and seeing Stephen’s reaction, just pain and horror and anger flicking across his features in equal measure, replaying in Tony’s mind was distressing enough. Tony knew when Stephen was mad, he didn’t quite make a big deal of it, instead being worse with the ‘silent fury’ he usually showed instead. Stephen didn’t lash out like Tony did, breaking things or yelling. His tactic was short sentences before fleeing.

Upon reaching Stephen’s apartment, Tony called his boyfriend, and when Stephen (predictably) didn’t pick up, Tony knocked on the door repeatedly. “Stephen?! Babe, I’m sorry. But I’m not going anywhere until you let me in and we talk.” No answer. Tony continued knocking, trying Stephen on his cell again. “Babe?! Please—” The door flung open, startling Tony.

Stephen stood in the doorway, looking surprisingly daunting despite his ruffled hair and red-rimmed eyes, suggesting he had been crying earlier. “Stop. Knocking. Please.” At this last word Stephen’s voice broke, at the same time as Tony’s heart. As Stephen began closing the door, Tony held up a hand to it. “Hey. Please. Let me in. Let me explain.”

Seeing Stephen’s hesitance, Tony edged his way past the taller boy into the apartment. No one else would be there, as Tony knew Stephen lived there alone. After reading the Donna entry, he now knew why.

Stephen closed the door behind him, resigning to Tony’s insistence they talk. He moved past Tony to sit at one of the stools in the kitchen, gesturing for Tony to take a seat. Tony did so without pause. “Okay, first, I need you to know—”

“I don’t have to listen to what you need from me right now, Anthony. I’ll ask you what I want to know, and then you can share your piece.” Tony nodded meekly, staring at Stephen who wasn’t looking back at him, seeming to find the counter more interesting.

Stephen cleared his throat, looking at Tony. “Why, Tony, why, would you read my journal? You know I didn’t want that, and we have so little boundaries between us, I figured honouring that one wouldn’t be so hard for you…”

Guilt churned in Tony’s chest. “I’m sorry. I honestly can’t say why without any reason sounding like some bullshit excuse. Maybe curiosity. Impulsivity. I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“You understand why I’m upset, right?”

Tony nodded. “Because you said I couldn’t, and I did.”

“That’s only part of it.” Stephen went back to staring at the counter. “What I write in those journals is incredibly, incredibly personal. They help me think, if I’m not ready to share with anyone else. What I feel, whether its overjoyed or infuriated with you, or classes, or whatever, it becomes infinitely clearer, and sometimes easier, to live through when I can see it as something tangible.”

“And so, when I saw you read it, all I could think of were all the things I wrote down that I never got to tell you, in my own time. In my own way. When you read it, you took that choice away from me, and violated my privacy at the same time.”

Tony swallowed. “I’m sorry. What can I do?”

Stephen stared off. “I don’t know. Probably just leave. Give us time.”

Tony nodded numbly, sliding off the stool. He opened the door, and realizing Stephen wouldn’t try to stop him as Stephen had done too many times before when they weren’t ready to part from each other, Tony closed the door behind him.

Walking home, Tony mulled over what he could do for Stephen. He had violated his boyfriend’s innermost thoughts, what gift basket would make up for that? And then inspiration struck. Suddenly realizing what he had to do, Tony ran the rest of the way home, putting on coffee once he got there realizing he’d be up all night.

When his project was finished, Tony checked the time. 6:00am. He could get a couple of hours of sleep in. He didn’t need to look totally crazy for when he saw Stephen again.

Tony woke up bleary eyed, feeling surprisingly well-rested from just his power nap. He checked the time, and froze. 2:00pm. Shit. The school day was basically over! He bolted up, brushed his teeth and threw on some jeans. Shoving his gift for Stephen inside his bag, Tony rushed out the door.

Just hearing the bell for dismissal as he reached the high school, Tony entered through the front doors, rushing through the crowd of students to find Stephen, who’d probably be at his locker or heading there. Sure enough, Tony picked out the taller-than-average student amongst the shorter kids, and beelined for him. “Stephen!”

He could see Stephen freeze up before turning around, recognizing Tony’s familiar frantic voice. “Tony, not now.” Tony rushed up. “No, babe, take this. Please, don’t open that here. Can we go to the park or something?” Tony held a notebook in front of him for Stephen to take. Just a simple coiled one, with some mechanic sketches on the cover. Stephen lifted an eyebrow in clear confusion, which turned to curiosity. “Ok.”

Tony could work with the short answers for now. They walked together to the park nearby, dropping their backpacks at the edge of the sand before claiming a swing each on the swing-set.

“Alright, do you want me to open this first? Or do you wanna explain?” Stephen prompted.

“It’s probably best if you just look in,” Tony responded.

Stephen nodded absent-mindedly, running a long finger over the sketches that covered the front before flipping it open. Gasping once he realized what it was, Stephen looked incredulously back at Tony, who only stared back with a smile he hoped compelled Stephen to continue.

Stephen did, mumbling under his breath as he usually did while he read, smiling or even laughing at certain parts of what was in the notebook. Tony drank in the sight of Stephen being happy once more, hoping this was enough to ask for Stephen’s forgiveness.

Reaching the final paragraphs, Stephen read aloud.

_Now I am FULLY aware of how intense a writing project such as this was. While my wonderful Stephen (who will hopefully still be mine after reading this nonsense) takes absolute AGES to write a few pages, I have achieved such a feat in… a mere 12 hours! Ha! My vision is officially blurring and I might collapse at any moment now, but the point is:_

_Stephen, my love, I was an idiot. And for violating your trust and boundaries cuz of my own stupidity, I allow you to indulge in my own cringey feats of writing forever. This notebook is now yours, along with my whole heart, and then some. Forgive me. I love you. T._

Stephen looked up at Tony, a smile on his face despite the tears in his eyes. “Did you really take all night to write this? Is that why you weren’t in class today?”

Tony nodded. “Anything for you Stephie.”

Stephen got up, putting the notebook down on the seat of his swing before straddling Tony’s lap, causing them to sway unsteadily for a second. Tony steadied Stephen putting his hand’s on the other's thighs, while Stephen wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck.

“Thank you,” Stephen breathed. Tony grinned. “Anytime babe.”

**Author's Note:**

> And then they made out on the swings :p
> 
> Hello my guys, gals and non-binary pals! Hope you are doing well. <3
> 
> I finally made my Tumblr pretty: chocopiggy.tumblr.com
> 
> Instagram: itschocopiggysart


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